When There WereThree
by Cyanne
Summary: Patty wonders about the so-called 'primary colors'...


DISCLAIMER: RAINBOW BRITE, RAINBOWLAND, AND ALL CHARACTERS  
CONTAINED THEREIN ARE THE PROPERTY OF HALLMARK, INC. I DO NOT OWN  
THEM (I JUST LOVE THEM) AND I AM NOT RECEIVING ANY PROFIT (THOUGH IT  
WOULD BE NICE...) THIS WORK OF FICTION IS INTENDED SOLELY FOR THE  
ENJOYMENT OF FANS OF THIS WONDERFUL SHOW  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story does not fit into any kind of chronology   
that I've previously established in my RB stories. Frankly, I'm not   
exactly sure what to make of it. But until I decide, let's just say   
it stands alone as a crazy, "what if" idea that I decided to   
explore.  
  
  
WHEN THERE WERE THREE  
A Patty-Buddy Fanfic  
by Cyanne  
  
Patty took a break from her morning chores around the Color Castle   
to sneak into Violet's library. The previous day she'd happened to   
hear Violet mention the 'primary' colors, and how all other colors   
are combinations of those three. Patty, unable to keep silent at   
this startling news, immediately asked Violet which three of the   
colors were considered 'primary.' Violet looked up from the poster   
she was decorating for the upcoming science exhibition, and told her   
"red, yellow, and blue." This answer had troubled Patty for several   
reasons. First, because it made her wonder if there had been a time,   
before the other colors were created, when there were only three   
colors. And if there were only three colors, it followed that there   
could only have been three Color Kids. The idea that there might   
have been Color Kids around before she, Patty, was created, was an   
unwelcome one, but before she could question Violet further, the   
other girl had been called away by a sprite requesting her   
assistance.   
  
So Patty had made up her mind to find out the truth   
behind the 'primary colors,' and about her origins. After   
ascertaining that no one was around (Violet, she knew, would be   
occupied all day with the science fair) Patty pawed through the   
books in the library, pulling out a dictionary first. She flipped   
through the pages, looking up the phrase 'primary colors,' found the   
corresponding entry, and then sat down on the floor to read.  
  
"The 'primary colors' are red, yellow and blue, which, when mixed in   
various ways, produce the 'secondary colors,' green, orange, purple, etc..."  
  
Patty let the book fall to her lap. So it was true. Her color, along   
with Violet's, Indigo's, and Lala's, were not _original_ colors;   
they had been created from the first three colors, the primary   
colors. Which meant that there might have been a time before she,   
Violet, Indigo and Lala existed, but when Red, Canary, and Buddy   
_had_ existed. The idea was disconcerting, and to take her mind off   
it, she turned to the 'G' section, looking up the entry on her own   
color.   
  
"Green: the color of growing grass...can be produced by blending   
blue and yellow..."  
  
Patty stopped reading again, her mouth dry. ~It isn't true, it can't   
be true, I won't believe it! I'm my _own_ color!~ She leapt up, the   
book tumbling to the floor, and began to search Violet's desk. A   
moment later, she found what she'd been looking for: a box of   
colored felt pens. Next she found a crumpled sheet of paper in the   
trash, smoothed it out, and removed the blue and yellow pens from   
the box. First she scribbled the yellow, then, biting her lip,   
reluctantly colored over the yellow with the blue. The result was a   
warm green. ~It can't be~ she thought, tears stinging her  
eyes. ~But it's true. I'm not my own color. I'm just a combination of   
blue and yellow, of Buddy and Canary~ Being one of the more fiercely   
independent Color Kids, the thought made her feel sick. She threw   
down the pens and fled from the room, heading blindly toward her   
keep. Buddy was coming out of his own keep as she tore down the   
hall, and he stared as she flew past him. "Patty, what's wrong?" he   
called after her.  
"Nothing! Just leave me alone!" Patty yelled, slamming her door. She   
threw herself down on the bed and abandoned herself to her misery.   
~I don't want it to be true!~  
  
The next thing she heard was knocking at her door. "Patty?" Buddy   
called through the door. "Patty, are you all right? I'm worried   
about you. Can I come in?"  
"I'm fine!" Patty shouted back, furious to hear her voice wobble.   
Buddy entered anyway (there were no locks in the Color Castle). His   
concern had overidden his usual courtesy toward his friends' wishes,   
no matter how upset they were at the  
time. "Are you hurt?"  
"No." Patty scrubbed the tears off her face.  
"Then why are you crying?" Buddy asked, clearly mystified.  
Patty looked up at him, suddenly seeing him in a completely   
different light. ~Buddy  
existed _before_ me~ she thought in amazement. ~He can remember a   
time before there was green in the world~ She remembered the pens.   
~And if green is a combination of blue and yellow, does that   
mean...he created me?~ A hundred questions were suddenly burning in   
her brain. Patty sat up on her bed, coming to a decision. "Buddy,   
can I ask you something?"  
"Sure."   
"Have you ever heard of the 'primary colors?' " she asked, then was   
startled to see him flinch. "Well? she prompted, a vague feeling of   
unease starting in her stomach.  
"Where did you hear about that?" Buddy asked, trying to look   
nonchalant and failing  
miserably.  
"I read a book in Violet's library. It said that the primary colors   
are red, blue, and yellow, and the secondary colors--green, orange,   
and violet--were created from those first three colors. Do you know   
anything about this?"  
"I know...something about it," Buddy hedged, looking very   
uncomfortable. "But what are you reading about that stuff for?" he   
added, forcing a laugh. "Don't you know there's work to do today?"   
He was edging toward the door. "You know, I think Rainbow wanted us   
to go up to the Color Caves and see how the sprites are doing, so we   
should probably--"  
"No," Patty replied, refusing to let him dismiss the subject. "I   
want to talk about this."  
Buddy hesitated. "Patty, I don't think it's a good idea--"  
"I don't care! If book I read is right, then there was a time before   
_me_--before _I_  
existed, but when _you_ did! When there were only three colors--just   
you, Red and Canary. Is this true, Buddy?"  
"How would I know? That's just a theory, Patty, there's no proof--"  
"Yes, there is! I tested it--I put blue and yellow ink together, and   
I got green. If that's not proof I don't know what is. You know you   
can't lie to me, Buddy. So stop pretending."  
"Why do you want to know this?" He sounded almost desperate.  
"Because I want to know where I came from. Tell me about it, Buddy.   
You were there. Tell me about the time before I existed!"  
"I don't _want_ to remember that time!" Buddy blurted, then   
immediately looked like he regretted it.  
"But you do, don't you?" Patty narrowed her eyes, knowing she'd   
caught him. "Tell me about it."  
Buddy was silent for several beats, staring at her as if he believed   
she would back down at any moment. But Patty held the gaze firmly,   
never having lost a staring contest in her life. Then, before her   
eyes, Buddy seemed to turn to ice. His jaw tightened, his eyes   
narrowed, and when he spoke, his voice was as frosty as if it had   
been left out in one of Stormy's best snowstorms. "I suppose this   
was inevitable, but that never stopped me from hoping this day would   
never come.  
All right, Patty, I'll tell you, but on one condition--I want you   
promise never, ever to mention it again. Don't tell anybody else.   
Forget what you're about to hear."  
"I promise," Patty answered, meeting his eye to show him she was   
serious. "It'll never leave this room."  
"All right then." Buddy took a seat in the chair beside her desk,   
moving as if he were  
sitting in front of a firing squad. "What do you want to know?"  
Patty considered a moment. "Well, is it true? Was there a time   
before me, before Lala, before Indigo, before Violet, when there   
were only three Color Kids?"  
"Yes," Buddy answered, as if the word was being forced out of him.   
"It was a very, very long time ago."  
"What was it like?"  
"Chaotic. The Universe was very young then, unstable. Everything   
was...shifting."  
"What does that mean?"  
"I don't know, Patty. I can't give a detailed explanation. I only   
have a few memories. Nothing was solid then."  
"What does _that_ mean?"  
"I said I don't know!" Buddy seemed like a completely different   
person. He seemed  
almost...tortured. "Look, you're the one who wanted to know what I   
remembered, and this is it--things were out of balance in the   
beginning, before the rest of you were created. It was   
an--unpleasant time, and I really don't like remembering it."  
"All right, I'm sorry," Patty said sincerely. "But I just can't   
imagine it, being around since the beginning, before there were   
seven Color Kids. You can."  
"You say that like it's a good thing," Buddy retorted bitterly.  
Patty paused at that, not knowing what to say. She dreaded her next   
question, though, but she knew it had to be asked. "What about what   
happened with the pens? The book said the secondary colors were   
created by mixing the primary colors. Is that what happened?"  
Buddy refused to meet her eyes. "In a way, yes."  
"And green..." Patty hesitated again, feeling a stab of guilt for   
doing this to him, but the desire to learn of her origins was   
irresistible, "it said that green is created by mixing blue and   
yellow, like what happened with the pens. Does that mean--that you   
and Canary....created me?"  
Buddy met her gaze unflinchingly. "Not in the way you think."  
"I don't know what to think, Buddy," Patty replied, her body   
suddenly cold. "Tell me."  
"Patty, I'd really prefer not to talk about this, at least not right   
now--"  
"Please, Buddy, I have to know, and if not from you, then from   
somebody else. I'll ask Red if necessary." She tried to look as   
though she really would.  
"I don't care who you ask," Buddy snapped with uncharacteristic ire.   
"I can guarantee you'll get more of an answer out of me than you   
will out of Red or Canary." Then he said a strange thing. "It's   
really none of your business, anyway."  
Patty blanched. "Where I come from is none of my business? Is that   
what you're saying?" She began to get angry, but froze at the look   
on his face.  
"It's none of your business because you weren't there," Buddy   
responded, sounding  
curiously sad. "You don't understand what it was like."  
"So tell me, and then I'll understand!"  
"You don't know what you're asking. If you did, you'd want to   
forget, too."  
"What was so bad about being one of the primary colors?"   
"Being alone!" Buddy shot back, then, again, Patty saw that curious   
flicker of chagrin in his light blue eyes, as if he knew he'd said   
too much.  
"But you weren't alone," Patty said, her brow creasing. "You had Red   
and Canary with you."  
"That's not what I meant."  
"Then what did you mean?" When Buddy refused to answer, Patty let   
her frustration boil over. "Oh, fine, what does that matter, anyway?   
You were there at the beginning of time, at the beginning of   
everything, one of the very first colors created!" She did not   
bother to conceal the jealousy in her tone. "And every other color   
in the universe is descended from you! Don't you know how   
significant that is?" And then it hit her, what that really meant,   
and her entire body went numb. Her mouth dry, she stammered, "Does   
this make you my...?"  
"It doesn't make me anything!" Buddy responded sharply. "The fact   
that you can only see it _that_ way proves that you don't   
understand, that you _can't_ understand what it was like then. We   
did what we had to do."  
"Why?"  
"Because there had a to be a balance."  
"A balance?"  
"The universe was unstable with just three colors. It wasn't   
enough."  
"Because there had to be green things?"  
"Yes, and orange things, and violet things and indigo things."  
"That's why you created us?"  
"We had to."  
"Was that the only reason?"  
"Well, yes."  
For some reason this made Patty's heart hurt. "Weren't you guys   
lonely?"  
Buddy paused to consider. "Yes, I suppose. We knew something wasn't   
right. It felt...wrong to exist without you. All of you."  
"How long was it 'wrong?' "  
"It seemed like a long time, but it couldn't have been more than a   
few nanoseconds."  
"Nanoseconds?" Patty repeated, vaguely remembering having heard   
Violet use the term.  
"A billionth of a second? That's practically instantaneous!"  
"It seemed like an eternity to me," he replied quietly.  
Patty digested that. "Who was created first?"  
"Oh, probably Lala, since orange is so close to red. But I'm not   
sure. It was so long ago. To be honest, it's hard to remember a time   
before you four existed."  
Hearing him say that made Patty feel a little better about not being   
the first secondary color created. "Do the others remember?"  
"Maybe. But I envy them if they've managed to forget it completely."  
"Why?" Patty asked, some envy still lingering in her tone. "Just   
think of what you were a part of! The first Color Kids."  
"We are _all_ the first Color Kids," Buddy corrected firmly. "None   
of us--not Red, not  
Canary, and not me--existed as Color Kids until you four were   
created and we became a unit. Remember that."  
Patty nodded obediently. She was suddenly conscious of how tired she   
was. The crying fit had worn out her body, and her mind was reeling   
from the revelations that had come to pass in the last half hour.   
Against her will, she found herself yawning.  
"Can I take that to mean you're through interrogating me?" Buddy   
asked, most of the acid gone from his tone, and the beginnings of   
his old smile curving his lips. He was beginning to look like   
himself again, and Patty smiled back, glad.  
"Yes. Thank you, Buddy."  
"You're welcome, but don't forget your promise."  
"I know, I'll never mention it again," Patty agreed meekly. ~But I   
wasn't thanking you for that~ she continued silently ~I was thanking   
you for creating me~  
After a few moments of silence that were not the least bit awkward,   
Buddy said, "Get some sleep."  
Patty nodded again and watched him leave, then lay back on her bed.   
She wanted badly to mull over what she'd learned, but her body was   
demanding rest whether her mind wanted it or not...  
  
She awoke to soft knocking at her door. "Patty? Are you there?"  
Patty recognized Buddy's voice and sat up, wincing from the stab of   
pain in her temple, telling her that she'd been in a deep sleep. She   
felt slightly disoriented, but called out, "Yes, I'm here. Come in."  
Buddy entered hesitantly. "How are you doing? Are you feeling   
better?"  
"Was I sick?"  
"I don't know. I just saw you run in here in tears an hour ago, and   
then you told me to leave you alone."  
"I'm glad you didn't." Memories of their talk filtered through her   
fuzzy mind.  
Buddy looked puzzled. "What do you mean? I did leave you alone."  
Patty stared at him. "No, you didn't," she repeated. "You came in   
here, and you told me about..." she remembered her promise and   
caught herself just in time.  
"Told you about what?" Buddy prompted, frowning slightly.  
Patty hesitated. "About the primary colors."  
"The what?"  
Patty's confusion was rapidly turning to alarm. "I know you told me   
not to mention it  
again, but I think something's wrong with my memory. You _did_ come   
in here, and you told me about being one of the primary colors, and   
how..." She broke off as she recognized sincere confusion in his   
eyes. ~Can he really have no idea what I'm talking about?~ she   
wondered.  
"Patty, maybe you should lay back down, you seem--"  
"No, I'm fine." Patty swung her legs over the side of the bed and   
stood up. "Just come with me for a second." She exited the room,   
Buddy following her, and headed back towards Violet's library. Sure   
enough, there was a book on the floor, face down where she'd dropped   
it. And on the desk, a slightly crumpled piece of paper with a green   
stripe on it. Patty released the breath she'd been holding. At least   
_that_ memory was correct. ~But what about the rest?~ She bent to   
pick up the book. "Have you ever heard of the primary colors,   
Buddy?"  
Buddy nodded, and Patty, who was watching him closely, noticed no   
signs of discomfort or dismay. "Yeah, I've heard of them."  
"Look here," Patty pointed to the paragraph she'd read and handed   
him the book.  
Buddy skimmed it, then looked up, still confused. "Yeah, so, what's   
this got to do with you?"  
"Nothing to do with me, but everything to do with you." Patty was   
beyond keeping the promise she'd made; all that mattered now was   
finding out if what she remembered had really happened. "I'm a   
secondary color, created from the primary colors." Patty pointed to   
the scratch paper. "Green is a combination of blue and yellow. See?   
I tested it. I put yellow and blue together and I got green. That's   
how I was created."  
Buddy had been scanning the book again, but he looked up at her last   
words. "I don't know where you got an idea like that, but you're   
wrong. First of all, green is a primary color, too."  
"What?!"  
"It says right here," Buddy pointed to another paragraph, then read   
aloud: 'The primary colors of the spectrum are red, green, and blue,   
the light beams of which variously combined can produce any of the   
colors.' "  
"But I read--"  
"What you read is true for pigments and dyes, not light. You _do_   
know that our powers are based on light, right?"  
Patty had the distinct feeling this was definitely something she   
_should_ have known. "Well, yes, of course..." she lied, not wanting   
to admit her ignorance, "but...I thought..." she trailed off, trying   
to rearrange her thoughts. ~So I dreamed it all?~   
"Are you okay, Patty?" Buddy was looking at her quizzically. "You   
look upset."  
"No, I'm not upset," Patty replied honestly, beginning to smile. "So   
I'm a primary color, too. I guess that means we were both around at   
the beginning, huh?"  
"The beginning?"  
"When the first colors were created."  
"Patty, there's no proof--"  
"Maybe there is, and maybe there isn't," Patty replied, unruffled.   
"It was a very long time ago." ~Nothing was solid then~ The words   
from the dream echoed through her suddenly incredibly clear mind.   
Then she noticed Buddy giving her a funny look again, and she   
grinned. "I just had a weird dream, that's all."  
"What kind of a dream?"  
"A dream where you told me you had created me."  
Buddy placed the book back on the shelf. "That is weird. Why would I   
tell you that?"  
"Because it was true, at least, it was in my dream." Her eyes took   
on a faraway gleam. "In the beginning, there were only three colors,   
the primary colors. But the universe was unbalanced with just three   
colors, so four more were created, to form a balance. Seven colors,   
seven Color Kids."  
"How do you know that?" Buddy asked, an odd look on his face.  
Patty's smile widened. "Don't you remember, Buddy? You were there.   
We were both  
there, at the beginning of time." Before Buddy could respond, she   
skipped ahead, out of the library, feeling lighter in spirit.   
"Thanks, Buddy, I won't forget this--but I'll pretend I will."  
"That's probably a good idea," Buddy agreed, who still looked like   
he had no idea what she was talking about. "It's all in the past,   
anyway, and none of it matters now."  
~Oh, but it does~ Patty thought happily. ~It matters quite a bit--to me!~  
  
THE END  
  
  



End file.
